Fearling
by Saitama-sama
Summary: She jumped in after him. Whether that spur of the moment decision changed the future for better, not even Bast herself knew. Now Nokuthula and T'Challa must face a new future together and all the new variables in it. May the Panther Goddess help them. [OC-Centric. Now a multi-chapter fic. Yay. BP/OC, AU (Rated T for now.) No Nakia, sorry.]
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Xhosa." + " _Emphasized Dialogue._ "

" **English.** "

 _Thoughts._

– –

I twisted and tugged on the large, circular necklace that seemed so unbearably tight around my neck all of a sudden. The beaded disc was beautiful, but with the amount of beads that it was made up of and even more necklaces set on top of it, it became horribly heavy and uncomfortable to lug around for hours. Apparently in my tribe, the more was better; it showed my status in my tribe, which was pretty up in the chain. My blood connections with the chief family was very close and I, in fact, was a first cousin to the Elder's niece. What this meant was that I was second in line as heir to the tribe.

This was great because I didn't have to worry about the expectations that my cousin Nofoto suffered from, but it also sucked because I had to stick with her in nearly everything since I was both the next in line if anything happened to her and was also to be her adviser for her future political involvement in Wakanda. Shadowing her father with her to talk with other tribes or getting involved with our own tribes issues and improvements lost its glamour and excitement and quickly became such a chore.

Spending my years as a child learning my studies, sticking myself to Nofoto, learning the unique martial arts of my tribe, and juggling with keeping my friendships at a comfortable relationship was _draining_. Now as an adult of 27 years, I didn't have to bother with education anymore having finished my private studies a year ago, but everything other responsibility became more intense and held more weight. All my decisions were measured since the consequences not only would affect myself, but would have an impact on my cousin as well.

I did everything in my power to makes sure she prosperous in every aspect of her life, and I did this not only because I was loyal and had the best of my tribe and country in mind, but she was nearly my sister. We were stuck at the hip since we were born and had a bond rivaling those of _twins_. Just because we didn't share the same mother didn't mean anything to us.

But I was also content to do my best to keep her successful because I was not at all comfortable with bearing the burden that was the leadership of the tribe.

Chiefdom was not something I don't believe I was ready for or would ever be.

– –

" _Aysh_ , Nofoto, are you ready for the ceremony? We need to be an _hour early_ —before any of our people are there. _You know this._ " I tugged on my bracelets in agitation and then knocked on her room furiously. " _He-llo_ , anyone there? We need to go!"

A muffled reply comes through the door, "Yes, yes, yes. I'm ready, I'm ready. No need for the ruckus."

The door swings open and walks out my cousin, decked out in the traditional garb and jewelry the woman of my tribe were famous for.

I smiled, canines nearly poking out from my thick, red stained lips; she looked beautiful.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" She worried, and touched her mouth and cheeks for the leftover snacks she must have been munching on not long ago. The smell wafted from her face and hands.

I shook my head and continued to smile, offering her my arm. When she finally decided that she was safe from public humiliation, we linked arms and walked down the halls, meeting her father and mother at the door.

When they caught sight of us, they both smiled.

"You both look beautiful my daughter, niece. The saying that our tribe are not only known for our power but also our good-looks is rightfully justified!" The chief boasted and nearly crushed his wife in his one-armed hug. My aunt swat him irritably all the while grinning a white, blinding smile. When he let her go, she immediately smoothed down her clothes and fixed her jewelry that became disarray with his manhandling.

Nofoto rushed to her mother to kiss her hands and on her forehead that was leveled a few inches below her own, and rearranged a necklace that hadn't been spot. Meanwhile, I went to kiss my uncle's hands and hugged him tightly. My cousin and I then switched places and did the same.

"Today is a blessed day. We thank Bast for her generosity and compassion," my aunt said as she went to hold onto her daughter again. "Our future king will be a good one. One that will keep us protected from the outside world like his father and ancestors had before him, and we will thrive under his rule."

The words and the tone she said them in was profound, and we all found ourselves bowing our heads in emotion.

"And I will help him, mother." My cousin added fiercely as she brought one of her mother's hands to her forehead. "With your blessing."

My aunt smiled proudly. "Yes, you will." She then looked at me. "And you will help her in her journey, no?"

I nodded seriously and took her other hand. "Of course, Aunty. Have I not dedicated my whole life for this?"

"Then we are in good hands. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for us."

My uncle opened his thick, long arms and dragged all of us in a hug, ruining the moment by laughing. "Come now! We all know my daughter will be his right wing woman, advising and overseeing the country along side him." He let go and signaled the guards to get ready for our departure. "But first, we need to _crown_ the Sikhulu! Let us be on our way!"

The view was gorgeous from where we were standing. The weather was perfect and the plants were at the peek of their beauty from the greenery that they displayed. It couldn't get anymore perfect. But what added to the moment was the excitement buzzing in the air. All the people of Wakanda had passed their mourning stage of the passing of our late kumkani, and now were excited to bring a new monarch in his place. It was a new start everyone needed. It was the beginning of a new rule.

"I've never been so excited in my life!" I whispered to Nofoto. She turned her head toward me and nodded her head vigorously in agreement.

We had just finished the loud ritual that signified the crowning of a new kumkani, and was now waiting for the High Priest Zuri to give the kneeling Sikhulu the liquid that removed powers of Black Panther. I shivered in anticipation when he began drinking purple liquid and clenched onto my robes when his veins purpled and began to look visible even from the place where we were standing.

I sniffed the air to find out if there was any difference in his anatomy.

What I found was that the smell of him decreased and was made less potent. Less feral.

I was surprised to find that I still liked it.

It appealed to my feral side because even though he was many times over weaker than us now, he was still a suitable king that she found worth submitting to. It calmed her demand of challenging this man—a man who claimed to rule all, including myself, without a single challenge for the seat. I was relieved that it was less likely now that I would instinctively jump to challenge him if he ever opposed or got in the way of my actions in our future interactions. Listening to a man lesser than me force everyone into following his rule would have made my feral resistant and hostile. My feral already thought that because of our superiority we were better suited for the position of power so if she even sniffed a hint of weakness, it was inevitable that she would get me in trouble for her over-dominating personality.

I jolted when the booming voice of my uncle sounded next to me, "-will not challenge today."

When I startled back into reality, my eyes darted back to the yet to be crowned sikhulu who's eyes roved over my family, suddenly making eye contact with mine, as brief as it was. I nearly jumped at the shear intensity that his eyes emitted. My feral approved, tickling the back of my mind pleasantly with a low hum.

 _Oh._

My eyes immediately turned to the floor and my head involuntarily bowed to acknowledge his rank.

Okay, well that potential confrontation for a challenge was a lot more less likely now. There was little chance I would ever go up to him and get in a fight. My feral side finally settled in its corner and content itself with the fact that there was indeed a human (although less powerful than myself) who was deserving enough to reign over the country. We were in good hands.

I sighed to myself and reached out to grab my cousin's hand to squeeze it. I gave her a small smile that relayed everything I wanted to say. She smiled back in a pleased manner when she realized from my relaxed form that from now on there was going to be no problem with cooperating with T'Challa in the future. This was in a very important moment in our lives because we were afraid that my feral wasn't going to be happy with the prince's higher ranking, which would eventually leave me with having to abandon my position at the royal court entirely as not to challenge him.

I turned forward to watch the proceedings when my keen ears caught an echoing sound of around eight to ten feet walking through the caves of mountain.

I moved my spear into an inconspicuous stance, oblivious that my movement had caught my cousin's eye and made her tense, familiar of my combat-ready position that signaled incoming danger.

A familiar scent caught my nose; it was one I had discovered many times in my adventures in the wilderness.

I tugged on my uncle's sleeve anxiously.

He turned his head to give me a chiding look that told me to stop making a scene and pay attention to the crowning, and discreetly removed his clothing from my grasp.

" _Uncle_ , the Ja-" He then moved his hand to the top of my back warningly and I ignored that by opening my mouth to warn him once more, but by then it was too late and the Jabari were already in our presence. They were bigger than I imagined. Probably more powerful too. For such big men, I would have imagined they would sound louder than an average person but they were actually light on their feet. It was easy to deduce that they learned their stealth because of their primitive way of living, which required a great amount of skill in the ways of concealment in order to hunt for food for their tribe.

Everyone, including the Dora Milaje surprisingly, had only realized that they were approaching when they began their loud grunts and ape-like noises as they came out of the tunnels.

Until they were fully in view, they made no move to hide their power and completely removed all forms of stealth, stomping all over the place mimicking the apes they held in high regard. M'Baku, their young chief and king, came up to our prince chanting loudly as his warriors stood back responding to his shouts.

"M'Baku, what are you doing here?" Our witch priest asked him agitatedly with a harsh stare.

With his head motioning to the surroundings, the ape-man replied lightly, "It's Challenge Day."

My feral became deeply amused at the balls of this ape-man. She liked him. I didn't.

The chief of the outcast tribe then moved to look at the audience yelling his distaste at our ways of living with technology and I grimaced in agitation. But when he made towards our princess, who flinched back in total terror, I snarled lowly, desperately wishing to drop down to where the royal family were standing and gut the stupid man. Nofoto too looked livid with anger, her eyes burning into the chief who had the nerve to threaten a royal in the presence of her loyal people.

 _The Dora Milaje have more than a fair chance at defeating them if this encounter becomes hostile_ , I thought snidely. _And I wouldn't mind giving a little taste of what I have in store if he makes one more move._

M'Baku then turned towards T'Challa, yelling his displeasure and taunting the prince with the death of his father. At that point I nearly had enough and had to clench my clothes with white knuckled fists to keep myself in place. No one. I mean, _no one_ , was going to come to our territory, come in front of our people, and tell our prince that he didn't have the right to be king.

My chest rumbled quietly when T'Challa interrupted M'Baku and consented heatedly. "I accept your challenge."

As the whole scene between the Sikhulu and Jabari leader unfolded, my feral woke and began to pace agitatedly, upset that someone had the gal to challenge our new alpha. But what was worse was that he actually had a chance at _winning_.

My heart pounded furiously as I struggled to restrain myself from jumping down and joining the fight, especially when T'Challa was knocked down to the water at one time. The drums beating, the chants, and the violence going down in the water made my heart quicken and was coaxing my feral to come out. The moment I felt my nails grow into sharp points, I quickly slid my hands into my robes. My teeth also began to elongate and I had a hard and awkward time trying to keep my lips covering them. I looked a sight with the evident bumps of them hiding behind the skin between my lips and chin. To mask my features, I lifted my robe covered hand over the bottom of my face to look like I was appalled of the occurrence down below.

 _Rhino dung. He's going to get himself killed!_ I bared my teeth threateningly behind my sleeve when blows on the Sikhulu were achieved. _Men. And whats worse:_ ** _Alpha men_** _._

The dreaded instant when the uncontrollable rumbling in my throat was getting out of hand and people around me were looking around for the culprit, I involuntarily reached out and grabbed the forearm of Nofoto. She jumped at the feeling of the point of my nails digging into her arm, breaking the skin even though I was holding her as delicately as I could. The scent of fresh blood made my feral stir even more. At that point, I couldn't take it anymore. I had to get out of there.

Nofoto got one look at my face and began to shove her way to the exit. Her parents hissed and scrambled to get a hold of us, but I pushed my cousin in front of me and dodged their hands with ease. I followed closely behind her, keeping my face low and covered in case anyone spotted my teeth or unnaturally small pupils. Unfortunately, I had no way of covering my pointed ears and I hissed to my cousin so, so she took off her robe and placed it over my head then continued to drag me out of there. The spear that I held was forgotten on the floor.

If I weren't so panicked about almost revealing my secret in public, I might've been horrified that she took it off in front of everyone. A woman in our tribe, and a high ranking one no less, was respected by the value and quantity of their clothes and jewelry, so removing and giving it to someone below them was a _social suicide_. Thankfully, no one was to be bothered and were all invested with who would come out victorious in the fight, so we were able to flee with almost no problem. In the cave I threw the suffocating piece of cloth back to her as I past her, running into the wild with inhumane speed before I did anything rash.

Instead I focused on the rush of freedom that made me excited and compelled to run at my full speed in the tall grass, leaping over rocks, bushes, and other obstacles like a gazelle. This went on for a while until I felt like I had to move from the fynbos floor, so as soon as a large tree came in sight, the provocation to climb it was inescapable. I brought a clawed hand a second before my nearly flying body met the tree and dug into the bark. I did the same with the other and repeated the action many times.

From an outsider's perspective, I made a terrifying and amusing sight. Terrifying because of the raw power and skill I displayed, and amusing because I looked like a cat clawing its way up a tree. What added to the image was the outfit and jewelry that I was wearing that did not suit my acrobatic movements.

I became confused when climbing was more just a tad bit more difficult than I remembered until I realized one important, yet missing, factor. I kicked off my leather sandals without a second thought and began climbing with all four limbs. It was just as I thought. Climbing with only my arms was easy, but the addition of my feet made like second nature.

 _Much better._

One branch after the other passed me and soon the distance between me and the jungle floor turned into a few of meters in seconds. The top was in sight.

I slowed before I reached the top of the tree and found a stable branch to crouch on; I could go no further since the higher branches were likely to break under my weight. As I settled into mediative demeanor to settle my inner-self, or in other words, my feral, I set my gaze upon the view that extended as far as the eye could see, which was saying something since I was acknowledging my super sight too. The fynbos, a biome filled with greenery, dozens of different sorts of cacti, and a few trees, spanned for miles, and even though I knew that the city wasn't far, I recognized the area that I was sure the cloaked city was situated—yet still, it was a sight to behold.

I'd never seen anything more beautiful in my life.

A long while later, when my thighs began to feel a little exerted from crouching, I shifted into a lying position with my arm under my head, gazing ahead.

 _Hopefully another 50 years of peace._ I turned on my back and looked up at the sky.

 _The future looks unsettling,_ I sighed in my mind, lifting one clawed hand and focusing on the way my nails retracted and settled to its previous form. The acute and undiluted vision that took over my sight weakened back to my normal human one, my hearing that encompassed all was now limited to the thirty meters around me, and everything seemed more muddier than before.

I could stay feral forever but for some reason, subconsciously, I always turned back human whenever my powers deemed unnecessary. Once, I tried to see what would happen if I kept my powers on as long as possible, but as soon as I wasn't paying attention to it, it retreated. I was shocked to say the least; heightened senses and strength was not something that could easily slip away from me without noticing. Whenever I consciously retracted everything to its normal condition, the difference in myself and how I responded to the world seemed unmistakable.

 _As long as I get to spare some time to do stuff like this, then I won't turn stir crazy in that loud city._ Then I thought of T'Challa. _But then again, with monarchs like ours, who says that_ they _won't make me go insane._

I quickly sat up. _Speaking of the Sikhulu. Isn't he the Kumkani now? Or is it possible that the Jabari chief won the seat?_

It was very possible that I could have now been serving a new linage. Even without the powers of the Black Panther, the ape-man man was insanely strong for a human. I heard it from my father himself, who never explained how he came upon this fact.

There actually was a very good possibility that he could be more stronger than T'Challa, who drank the potion to remove his powers. Although with all his brawn, T'Challa still held something more powerful: skill and will power. T'Challa was unbelievably impressive as a fighter when he was human and I was sure that the motivation to keep his country under his safe rule would enhance that feature many times over.

At that thought, I never felt prouder.

As a human being, he could't get anymore perfect. I'd now this because I spent my whole life watching him from afar—it was literally my job description. Throughout the many years that I spent time behind my cousin and watched her interact with him, I found that there couldn't be a man more suited to the throne more than he, and with that my loyalties were quickly rooted. I looked forward to the many years that I would help my cousin serve him.

My mother wasn't wrong, our people would thrive in his care.

 _It's time to see the verdict of the dual._ I initiated my powers and climbed down nimbly.

Slowly jogging through the jungle, I decided to enjoy what it had to offer and took the time to smell, look, listen, and feel the area. But incase that there would be the occasional hunter or shepherd passing by, I hid my powers fifteen minutes before I caught sight of the entrance.

When I reached the border of the city, I smiled at the familiar guards who bowed their heads at me. They knew of my ventures out in the wilderness, and even though they had no idea what I was up to, they trusted my ability to keep myself safe. For the last fifteen years I had been going in and out of the city and not one time have I come back with an injury—although I should thank my healing ability for that. Deep research told me that Ferals were more likely to attain healing abilities. I saw it from mutants like the Wolverine, Sabertooth, Lynx, WhiteBear, and many others.

For every street that I entered, the crowd doubled in size, until I reached the most congested one located in the heart of the city. Instead of going my home that was thirty minutes away and contacting Nofoto who would be fretting over me for the scene at the arena, I found that I could easily posses the knowledge from gossiping citizens.

The crowning was the most important news of the year, and there was bound to be some information that leaked out shortly after the event.

A few minutes later, I would be found in a shaded stall leaning against a wooden post and enhancing my hearing to overhear the tittle-tattle of two elderly woman beading away at the jewelry they were going to sell in a week from now when they finished.

"-ness. She said that she heard from her husband, who was there to witness, that he had his thighs locked around the Jabari and begged him to yield. She said that he became blue since he took a very long time to and was seconds from suffocating to death. The Inkosi is a very compassionate man. We are lucky that Inkosi T'Chaka raised him so."

"Quite right, darling. Did you also hear that the ma-" I had my fill, and with this information in mind, I turned to go back home.

I wasn't so surprised at the outcome, only a bit relieved. The throne was secure for the next four or five decades.

For a moment, I turned back to gaze at the palace that stood so magnificently miles away on a high mountain.

 _My Kumkani T'Challa. May you lead us in difficulty and support us in prosperity._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Xhosa." + " _Emphasized Dialogue._ "

" ** _English._** "

 _Thoughts._

 _– –_

Waking up at five in the morning nearly everyday came as a second nature; not sleeping at all, even more so. My nocturnal behavior might've been attributed to my mutation since many wild cats hunted and lived during the night.

I lifted my face from my pillow and croaked, "Time."

"It is 5:28 a.m." My systematic home device monotonously replied from my clock on the bedside table.

"Turn the shower on to warm setting."

The telltale sound of the water sputtered on and hit the floor as I lifted myself from lying on my belly to walking down my room, removing my pajamas and leaving a trail of clothing to the bathroom. The hot water cascaded down my body and I stood there for a few minutes reveling in the sensation until I finally reached for my bottle of shampoo. Washing my head thoroughly, although it didn't require much attention since I sported a very short buzz cut, I thought back to events that occurred in the last two days.

So far, nearly nothing had changed—not surprising since the Kumkani had only been in leadership for less the 70 hours. Even before our late Kumkani had passed away, T'Challa had a major role making decisions with his father in our government, so really there was nothing he actually did want to change. It was almost as if T'Chaka knew that his end was near and began to retreat from meetings to let his son take the stage—sometimes not showing up at all if he deemed it of minor importance, trusting that his son would take care of trivial matters. So in fact, actually nothing changed except T'Challa officially being our leader.

I, on the other hand, was going crazy running all over the place with my cousin trying to find a new dealer on the remodeled vibranium cloth that had just been released into the market. We wanted to be the first tribe to have our fingers in that pie, which would make us priority in their eyes, being the major buyer when they were at their first stages of introducing something to the market. Also, my tribe was one of the most populated ones in the nation and renown for our fashion, so if our people began to wear their fabrics, other tribes were bound to be influenced.

I had no idea why my uncle thought it was a good idea to leave us with this task that should've been left to his secretary, but what I did know was that _my_ secretary deserved a raise.

I dried my body and walked to the mirror.

Thank Bast that makeup wasn't something that was practiced by the woman of Wakanda. I'd seen some of those Youtubers from the West in the net. They're crazy to waste such time on doing something so mundane as cake their face.

As I was moisturizing my face with vibranium infuced creams, my home AI spoke up in its soft feminine voice. "Honorable Heiress Nofoto is on the line. Accept or de-"

"Accept."

The loud voice of my cousin sounded through the walls.

"Morning, cousin! Did I wake you?" My cousin laughed. She was always so much like her father in that she was always in a chipper mood. To some it might've eventually became an annoying trait, but I had my whole life to get used to her personality. By now I found it charming. Nofoto simply wasn't Nofoto without her joy.

"No, not this time," I denied as I began to slip on my beaded cuffs. "When did you wake up?"

"Some 40 minutes ago. When are you going to be ready?"

"Right about now. I'll meet you at the arena."

"Don't forget your shield this time!" She joked.

"Like I needed it anyway," I shot back. "You can be shooting at me with a gun and I'd still be able to defeat you with my bare hands."

"You know that if you were a human I'd have a fighting chance." She argued, and she was right. If I were a normal human like her I'd probably be average or a little above in combat skills and she'd be wiping me on the floor. "And plus, it's not only your bare hands. Don't forget about your claws. That classifies as a weapon."

"My claws are an extension of my body and therefore part of me. An entire body can be a weapon if utilized correctly." I replied as I walked out of my bedroom to get some breakfast.

Nofoto scoffed in amusement. "You know, you have this amazing ability to make everything into a lecture. Just like my mother."

"A child like you needs to have your ears pulled every moment. Why do you think they stuck me with you?"

"Oh shut up."

"Lights on," I directed to my AI then returned back to my conversation with her, "I'm going to eat now, see you there in five."

"Hurry up though, I need to tell you something." My curiosity piqued at those words. "Until then."

"Call ended." My AI informed me unnecessarily.

Nearly every morning we went through the same routine. We both woke up before sunrise, got ready, and then went straight to the arena to brush up our skills. Although there might not be any war or conflict at the time, we were warrior people and had to be ready for any circumstance in which we would have to protect ourselves. I also did this because of my duty to protect my cousin, the future chief of my tribe. With Nofoto, she practiced because of all this but also incase of one of our tribe members or other tribe leaders tried fighting for her position in the near future.

I threw the core of my apple into a bin over five meters away with impeccable accuracy and stretched down to touch my toes.

"Close door." I commanded after I left my doorway and jogged down the steps, slowly gaining speed until I was sprinting at full speed down the lamp lit streets.

It only took me around two minutes to make the whole mile run, and when I reached the entrance of my destination, I took inhaled deeply and easily controlled my slightly erratic breath. Perks of feral mutations was being able to endure trying activities for a _very_ long time. Too add on top of that, I was in an extremely fit condition from constant activity—not only because I had to be, but my Feral wouldn't allow me to sit in one place for a long time without doing anything physically stimulating. My parents took my to a phycologist once—before they knew the effects of my mutation—and I'm pretty sure that if it weren't that I was capable of attention to a task for long periods of time if I really forced myself, I would've been diagnosed ADHD.

It made me think that other Ferals must've had the same problem. Perhaps if I ever have the chance to meet one I'd as them if they experienced the same thing.

In the middle of the arena I set to do some light stretches. My regeneration and naturally flexible limbs gave me no reason to do so, but I liked the feeling and used the time to fix my mind in a combative mindset.

I suddenly stood up when I heard purposefully light footsteps. She was trying to catch me off guard, as usual. Unfortunately for her, light footsteps sounded like stomping so sneaking up on me was nigh impossible.

"Good morning Nofoto." I turned around and initiated the greeting with arms over my chest.

She responded back to the traditional greeting and gave me a wide smile. "Good morning dearest cousin."

Our weapons were set in the corner of the room, polished and ready for use. The servants were used to our custom and always had them available for our use.

My cousin held up a hand before I could go retrieve a weapon I felt like using this time. "Before we begin, I wanted to give you the latest news from the Hatut Zaraze."

I cocked my head. "Oh? Nothing unmanageable, I hope."

"It is manageable, but bad news nonetheless." She said grimly. "Yesterday that bastard Klaue struck a museum in the United States."

"And I assume he stole a relic that contained vibranium." I finished.

"Yes. Tomorrow my father and the counsel be informing the Kumkani." She groaned as she frustratedly rubbed her cheeks, "Why? Why now? Things are so delicate now that we have a new Kumkani."

"Exactly why he decided to strike now. The man thought he found a window of opportunity and took it. He probably thinks that the Kumkani will not pursuit him himself with the responsibility of establishing himself in the Royal Counsel."

"Wishful thinking." My cousin scoffed. "Allow the man the Kumkani's father was unable to catch his whole life free? Heh. There's a better chance of all the vibranium disappearing in the mountain than that. The King is going to take this as chance to honor his father's death and catch him. I'm just hoping he forgets detaining him and instead finishes him once and for all."

"Same," I agreed. Keeping him prisoner wasn't a solution; people like him will never finish playing their games of chaos. The blood of countless innocents stained his hands—or rather, hand. And bringing him to justice? It would please his lifelong friend W'Kabi immensly.

"We'll discuss this further in the future, but for now let's get on with sparring." She threw over her back as she went to retrieve a shield and long knife. She always picked those.

I quickly jogged up next to her and picked up a pair of long metal arm braces that reached up to my elbow. After removing my thick bracelets, I attached them on.

My cousin scrutinized pick and raised a disapproving brow. "Only that?"

I extracted my claws and held them up, giving a grin full of sharp teeth. "Does it look like I need anything else?"

She rolled her eyes at the attempt at intimidation. "Your nails sometimes break during a spar."

I tutted, "That happened only once, and that was when I took a spar seriously." It was impossible to fight against vibranium, and near indestructible metal, with only nails. It was the equivalent of bringing a knife to a gun fight, so in every fight I had to utilize my powers to overwhelm my opponent. In reality, if I were to fight an outsider, I would be able to pierce their armor and flesh like butter and fight easily against their weapons–not including the gun. But having the mutation I had and simultaneously wearing vibranium cloth, it would be easy to avoid getting shot.

"With that statement, you know I'm going to take this seriously then."

"I know." I replied cooly and walked to the middle of the arena.

Twirling her knife in an intricate pattern that showed her expertise in weapon use, she shifted her stance and readied her shield arm.

"Ready?" I warned and waited for her confirmation.

When she nodded, I crouched and flexed my claws.

"Go."

I sprinted at her and threw myself meters up in the air to overwhelm her with the power of my weight and gravity pushing behind it. She immediately brought up her shield and dug her heels into the floor, knees nearly buckling from the brunt of it. With my feet, I pushed against her shield and threw myself back, rolling back into a crouched position. Nofoto stumbled a few steps but managed kept her balance from my attack.

 _Good girl_ , I praised; if it were anyone else, they would've been skidding across the floor.

This time, when she recovered, she decided to take initiation and rushed at me with her long knife swinging.

I leaned back as it swiped inches from my face and kept stepping back as she executed multiple slashes and jabs at different points of my body. For a few moments I allowed her to corner me until I dropped low and threw out a leg to get her flat on her back. In pure instinct, she dodged deftly and threw her knife at my chest.

Metal against metal made a loud screeching noise when I whipped my arm over my chest and deflected the weapon from impaling my chest. I swiped at her multiple times and grappled her for a few minutes until I got her in a vulnerable position. The incredibly sharp points of my nails pricked her neck as I used my legs to pin hers down and kept her arm tightly behind her back.

She bucked multiple times and tried wiggle out my hold as I kept her down easily. Blowing lowly and relaxing her body so that she was slumped on the floor, Nofoto gave a resigned, "I give."

Letting go, I patted the back of her head and lifted myself off her. I gave her a few moments to compose herself and get in her battle stance before doing the same.

"Ready?" I asked with an inquisitive brow.

She nodded while trying to contain her light panting, breathing a few deep breaths. "Yeah," she replied a little breathily.

"Good," I said, watching her stance intently for flaws and any clues of what she might do next. "Begin."

— —

I was anxious for the hours to come.

My uncle had the meeting with T'Challa nearly a day ago. The decision was exactly what my cousin and I expected: he left to catch the terrorist. Everyone was unsure yet hopeful that mission would turn out as a success.

He had to succeed. As the his first act as Kumkani, it was important that he had that psychopath captured to show his ability to keep his word. Although it wouldn't necessarily be a shame if his first operation as king was a failure it would undoubtedly be a bad first impression to his kingdom and advisors. He also had to especially make sure that he fulfilled the vow that he made to his friend W'Kabi.

W'Kabi was a competent man and leader, but when it came to the issue with his father, a logical one he was not. His fathers death when W'Kabi was a young man had deeply impacted his rationality in matters like this. There was always a furious scent around him whenever the issue of Klaus came up around him, even though he was incredibly good at hiding he temper externally. The body never lies though, and my nose quickly recognized the bitter smell of hatred after the first time I witnessed him discussing another of Klaue's evasion.

So far things were fine. It was supposed to be a simple stalk-and-capture operation (although it was never simple when it came to that bastard Klaue) and there was no news from the Kumkani, Hatute Zaraze, or Dora Milaje came through so I had to assume that everything was going smoothly. This made me relieved and I was so sure that the mission would be completed without a hitch.

I turned off the device on my wrist after reviewing for potential updates on the mission. My cousin began to update me on this although it was near illegal to do so. I don't know why she took the risk to inform me on these matters—not that I minded—but I deeply suspected that she was encouraging me to get out there and use my abilities; possibly even use my powers to protect and help the Kumkani. I found this amusing because I could just imagine the pair we would make: a feline feral and the Black Panther. It was so cliché that it almost was meant to be.

For a brief moment I imagined what it would be like to imitating those superheroes in the States fighting crime and taking names. It was something I dreamed of when I was younger, mimicking the tales and legends of warriors of Wakanda I was told about in my youth.

I scoffed to myself. Those were wishes of children. I would never be like the Avengers, Fantastic Four, or X-Men; going out and saving the world. I could never be like them because my first and foremost allegiance was to my country. Everything else was out of the question.

For some reason, I could help but feel bitter at this. Forever I was stuck devoting my life to this country and I couldn't even leave if I wanted.

It was a good thing then that I didn't want to, although I felt sympathetic towards those who were unwillingly bound to this country.

The city of Wakanda had a strict immigration policy. They never allowed foreigners into our city and allowed few Wakandans out of the country. The kumkani of the past, along with their advisers, had decided that the secret of our technological advancements was best hidden if very little of our people ventured out. Those who were even allowed out where almost always forced to work with the War Dogs and spy on the country they were inhabiting. It was a policy that was nearly ineluctable and one I found detestable.

"And what are you thinking so hard about now?" My uncle asked as he entered my office and walked to stand beside me, peering over the work I was completing on my data pad.

I got up from my seat and kissed his cheek sweetly. "Nothing big, only about how the Kumkani is doing."

"Last I heard was that he is now with the Americans interrogating Klaue." My uncle took my data pad and began reviewing it absentmindedly. "That maggot is definitely going to do his utmost to make the Kumkani's time there as difficult as possible. I can only imagine the information he will be offering, only to manipulate them and break their confidence in us."

Now that he brought it up, I wholeheartedly agreed. It sounded exactly like something Klaue would do. Since he knew that his defeat was inevitable, stirring shit up and making as much a mess he could before he was finally detained was probably his way of having the last laugh.

"Say, when did you hear information on the operation?" I asked curiously.

My uncle stopped tapping at the screen and looked down at me. "About three hours ago."

I hummed and moved around my desk to grab my patterned robe. Once I slipped it on I moved to my uncle and drew out a hand to beckon for the data pad. We left it on my desk as I escorted him out of my office for our lunch date. Usually we used this time to chat casually about the things going on about my life, which usually lead to us discussing the family business.

We were walking down the halls of our home when our Communication Bead began to vibrate on our wrists. Immediately, we drew our hands together and a single image of a solemn looking Okoye.

The general lifted her arms to her chest and greeted us swiftly yet respectfully. We greeted back only using on arm as not to sever the connection.

My uncle took the lead and inquired, "What has happened, General? Does the Kumkani call for us?"

"He does, Chief Langa. We will be meeting at 15:00 at the Throne Room. That is all." Okoye answered straightforwardly.

"Hm, I'm to believe that this is good news no?" Although my uncle asked the question, I also too hoped that that was the case.

Unable to avoid the questioning of a chief, Okoye answered as honestly, but little, as she could. "I'm afraid not. We will be answering questions and going into detail of the operation at the council."

My uncle was not the one to demand answers out of unwilling participants so he let Okoye be. "Thank you, General. I will see you then. Wakanda Forever."

She crossed her arms against her arms against her chest once more. "Wakanda Forever."

The connection was cut and my uncle sighed. "I had hope."

I too sighed deeply through my nose and brought an arm around my uncle to comfort him. My high hopes had been squashed by the news as well. "I will personally hunt him and bring him to justice if it comes down to it. You know I will."

My uncle gave a small, proud smile and rubbed my shaven head affectionately. "I know you will, my lioness."

"Now come." I slipped my arm around his and tugged. "We have some potential contracts to discuss over lunch."

"A fine idea. I am craving umkhuphu today."

The restaurant we decided upon was high-tier and not one we would usually chose for lunch, preferring restaurants at the market place that provided heartier soul food. Though we chose the place because of the calm atmosphere, which was preferable to discuss business over. I considered all the options and prospects I had collected over the months with my uncle for some time as we ate. It was a long tedious process, not only because of the list but because my uncle made sure that I completely understood everything going on and was not going blindsided when I were to communicate over terms with the sellers. Once we narrowed down the options, we focused on our dinner and the discussion on the topic drew to an end.

Eventually, I decided it was as good time as any to ask some questions. I really was curious as to what my uncle was thinking about the upcoming assembly and the pensive face he was sporting as he ate did not help keep my curiosity at bay.

"Uncle," I began.

"Hm?"

"Since we both know that the bad news can only mean that Klaue got away, how do you think W'Kabi will react?"

Langa wiped his fingers on a napkin and leaned back on his chair with a thoughtful look. "Well…The man is a little impulsive and I think there is a possibility that he will eventually start to take matters into his own hands."

"What do you mean?" I asked inquisitively. "Do you think that he will be making efforts to capture Klaue through his own soldiers?"

My uncle shrugged. "Perhaps. Sounds like the most logical approach."

I nodded in acceptance to that answer but leaned forward to ask another question quietly. "But do you think he will go against the kingdom to apprehend Klaue?"

Instead of asking that question, my uncle raised his arm for the waiter's attention and asked to pay. Only were we on our way back home in the redesigned metro did he finally answer.

"No," he finally replied. "He has too much to lose."

True. The position over his tribe and the power it came with it, respect, honor, and especially the trust and love of his lover Okoye would all be lost. Yet still I couldn't help but feel wary about his loyalty.

As if he sensed my doubts and troubled thoughts, Langa placed hand on my shoulder and looked at me seriously. "Don't look into this too much. The moment we start doubting leaders and allies is the moment where we begin to find excuses to turn on each other."

He had a very good point so I nodded my head acceptingly. "Yes, uncle."

"Good girl." He stood up from his seat and approached the opening exits. "Now come. I have a meeting to attend and you have work to finish."

I thought of the ever growing work compiled on my data pad that I had to finish before I collaborated efforts with my cousin and rubbed my face defeatedly before standing up to walk next to him.

"It's a beautiful day today, no?" My uncle asked rhetorically.

I looked around at the bustling streets and the beautiful blue skies and appreciated their beauty for a few moments. The people of Wakanda were incredibly blessed to be living in the most beautiful country in the world.

"Nokuthula, I have to tell you something." Langa said quietly as he admired the people and stalls. He slowed us down to a stop and took a moment to look at me. "Nofoto will soon take my place as chieftess of our tribe as you know."

I nodded. Of course, I never expected any different.

"For your entire life you have believed that you would follow in my daughter's shadow and help her as her right-hand woman." This too I completely believed and accepted.

"But I know that there has to be something more to your life." He grasped my hands tightly which made my heart beat a little faster with anticipation. "Nokuthula, you are a bright and fiercely capable woman. Your gift is a blessing from Bast and I know that she gave you it for a reason. It would be unfair to you to keep you bound to a life where you would never reach your full potential."

 _My full potential? What was he going on about?_ I squeezed his hands tighter. "Uncle, what are you talking about? Is there something wrong?"

He continued on as if he hadn't heard my worries. "Niece, when my daughter takes over my place as chieftess, I am releasing you from your duties of our family and allowing you the liberty to live freely."

"Uncle, please, why are you talking like this?" I pleaded and shook his hands to get him to answer. Never had I ever imagined to hear the words coming out of his mouth at the time and what scared me was the way he was saying it. It was as if he was making his final wishes in life, and what he said next confirmed my fears.

"I just feel as if I should make amendments in my life before I regret anything. Life is incredibly short and no one knows what will occur tomorrow. It is better to make things right at this moment rather than missing the chance to in future." He told me wisely.

Worry niggled my stomach. He was talking as if he knew that his death was near and unfortunately, it was possible. My uncle had married very late at the age of forty and only began having children seven years later. Nofoto, my cousin, was twenty-nine, which meant that he was seventy-six.

"You are talking as if you are expecting death soon." I told him.

He looked at me seriously. "My time could come at any moment."

"You are absolutely fine, uncle. Look at Chieftess Bathandwa, she has lived ninety-seven years and is still kicking. You have another few decades to live." It was true, with our technological advancements our average death rate was at around ninety and many people I personally knew had easily passed that, sometimes reaching one hundred and ten years until they passed away. Diseases like Alzheimer's, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, strokes, and COPD were easily cured because of Wakanda's advanced medicine, allowing people to live healthy for a long time until they died naturally.

"You might be right about that, but this is not about me. I'm not going to let decades pass before fixing my mistakes. It will be too late for you by then, so it is now that I am letting you go so that you may do what you wish in life before you regret it."

I was so shocked at this confession and could only stare at him with wide eyes for some time. When I was able to shake myself out of my shock enough to respond, I noticed his earnest eyes and smiled wobbly. Very quietly, I said, "Thank you, uncle."

Stepping forward, I hugged him tightly feeling a little choked up. As I let go and looked up at him again and saw his gaze that relayed every bit of his honesty, the weight on my shoulders lifted.

I couldn't believe it. I absolutely couldn't believe it. I was a free woman.

Free.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Xhosa." + " _Emphasized Dialogue._ "

" **English.** "

 _Thoughts._

 _– –_

Nofoto and her father walked into the dining room as I and my aunt were eating our supper. We halted to look at them curiously, waiting for the news on recent events. Noticing that they looked a little haggard and defeated, my dining companion and I stayed quiet and patiently waited until they were ready to talk. That didn't stop me from stealing some small glances at them from time to time.

Nofoto collapsed in her seat and groaned loudly in an uncharacteristic manner while my uncle sat smoothly and silently ate. Later on when they ate their meals and rejuvenated a little, they relayed what went on during the meeting.

From what I heard, the mission went along something like this:

The Kumkani, along with Dora Okoye and Nakia, were able to capture Klaue after a wild escapade along the streets of Busan in South Korea but allowed one of America's agents to take him and interrogate the terrorist in a nearby CIA facility. Then, during the interrogation, Klaue was able to escape when his unknown associates were able to temporarily stun everyone with a blast.

As we had all expected, Chief W'Kabi had made his anger known and had made a fuss like the immature child he was during the meeting. (There was no need to complain when someone else was doing your work. In my opinion, if you wanted a job done, expect it only to be done by one's self.)

"Sounds like a mess," I commented quietly after I took a moment to think over everything that they told me.

My cousin laughed without humor, "No kidding… And all this isn't even the worst news."

"Oh? And what can possibly be worse that Klaue's escape?"

Whether my cousin looked to her father either for guidance or permission, I didn't know, but it didn't matter in the end because he answered instead.

"The Kumkani brought an outsider, an agent from the United States, to the city," he stated.

 _What in the world… No, this is impossible._

"Here, as in here, in Birnin Zana." I specified.

Langa nodded somberly.

I was so confused and astonished that I couldn't bring words to my mouth to string together a proper sentence so I asked simply, "Why?"

Why would the King, _the King himself,_ ever break the strictest, most enforced law in our country? A rule that he and his forefathers had implemented since the foundation of our country?

"The agent was shot fatally under the Kumkani's watch and he felt responsible to heal him since Wakanda has the means to do so."

I finally understood then, but confusion continued to plague my thoughts. "I can sympathize, but still, never has a foreigner been brought by a kumkani in our entire history–that I know of."

From the way my cousin straightened and threw her hands up, I could see how upset she was over this risky, hastily made decision. "Exactly! I'm sorry to disrespect his Highness, but does he know what the consequences of his actions are if the foreigner is allowed to gain consciousness?"

"Nofoto!" My uncle reprimanded tightly.

"I know, I know, sorry, but you have to agree that what he did is outrageous," Nofoto said with raised eyebrows and sharp, angry eyes.

"Calm yourself. We don't know if the agent is even awake. It is possible that they will keep him sedated and take him away." I said, ever the mediator, and put a comforting hand on the young woman's shoulder.

She gave a grudging tilt of her head. "That may be so, but we also have to look at the fact that he brought an outsider to our city. Not only has the law been broken, but he has made this judgment call without us giving our permission–or even informing us about his decision."

"How could he, Nofoto?" I argued. "A man was dying, and do you honestly think we would have allowed him into the city if we ever knew about it?"

This all made sense to her and I could see this from the way she wasn't able to argue back–yet agitation over the situation remained, giving her a tense posture. Years of being told that outsiders were troublemakers and unwelcome here had clearly influenced her way of thinking and made her suspicious and fearful of outsiders… though that is not to say that I wasn't affected by it as well in the least. The King was merciful and I couldn't fault him for it, but I too worried about the repercussions that would come from this.

"The other chiefs and I will be speaking about this with his Highness tomorrow to find a solution, girls." Langa interrupted calmly. "As for now, we must wait for information on the agent."

"I'm a hundred percent sure that he will be waking up any moment." Nofoto said, seething a little.

This made me wonder where exactly the agent would be waking up. It didn't seem like a very smart idea to allow the foreigner to be healed in the public hospitals where everyone would be able to discover him and cause an uproar amongst the public. The private clinics that individual tribes owned were also ruled out because of how upset the tribal leaders themselves must have been at the news. The last conclusion that I came to was Princess Shuri. It wasn't a secret that the young innovator had a lab of her own and had dipped into every field that Wakanda could provide whether it be weapons, transportation, textiles, communication, or medicine. The girl had obsessed over creating the best of the best and it would be no surprise if her brother used this to the agent's advantage and healed him there.

In the end, I decided that nothing would be achieved by saying all this aloud and stayed silent. When all was said and done, everyone had to wait for the King's orders and hope for the best.

Nofoto stood up from the table. "May Bast give you blessings, father. I hope that you are able to convince the Kumkani into making the right decision."

He nodded and thanked her. "I will need it. Good night, Nofoto."

I excused myself not long later.

That night I went to bed feeling apprehensive, not looking forward to the upcoming morning. Never had I heard of the Elders unanimously upset at something the King had done and I had a feeling that this would mean trouble stirring in the Royal Court tomorrow and the days to follow. What the Kumkani had done was a humongous act against our ways of isolationism and would not be allowed to be swept under the rug.

The next morning I got up in a state of suspense, wondering what the day would have in store for me. I was both relieved and disappointed that I was not involved in the matters of the Court and went along my day like it was any other.

Quickly, the morning was over and I found myself sitting in a cafe enjoying a chilled drink and working to finish some small tasks on my data pad. As I was about to complete a form for one of the deals that my tribe was investing in, my communication bead vibrated. Immediately, I opened the link.

I smiled at my cousin, not taking notice her flushed face. "Hello, cousin. Ho-"

" _The Kumkani has been challenged for the throne._ " My cousin rushed in a frantic tone. "He's going through it immediately! I can't make it on time so you will have to take my place. Go now to the arena!"

Without waiting for her to disconnect, I threw myself out of my seat and sprinted full speed in the streets. My form was a near blur to the citizens of Wakanda as I dodged and passed them. Too full of nerves and occupied with worrying that I would not get to my destination on time, I didn't care if anyone had recognized me and wondered about my enhanced abilities.

It took almost 20 minutes of running to reach my home and when I reached it, I went inside and made a beeline for my small aircraft.

The ceiling of my room opened and I maneuvered my vehicle so that it exited smoothly. Once again, I was going at top speed, racing to get to the battle in time.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." I chanted lowly and gripped the controller of the ship tightly.

My feral side was pacing, my heart was thundering, and all I could think was, _Who?_

Every scenario, every person I could think of was shut down. In order to challenge the King, the opponent had to be of Wakandan linage and therefore from one of the six founding tribes, but that didn't make sense. Every tribe had completely surrendered to King T'Challa's sovereign during Challenge Day and were forbidden to challenge for the seat in any time in the future once the crowning was over. M'Baku was also crossed off the list since he had experienced a humiliating defeat and went back to his land to lick his wounds.

This person must have been someone notable for the King to accept his challenge.

When I arrived near the arena I parked my small aircraft and ran towards the tunnels that would lead to it. I desperately hoped that I hadn't missed the chance to witness the challenge.

The tunnels were dark, unlit because of the rush to begin the challenge, but that didn't hinder me in the slightest. In the dark, my eyes were still many times better than a human's, and I was able to continue running as fast a possible.

Reaching the entrance I slowed to a stop and took a breath to compose myself, then walked out quickly. Almost immediately, my eyes spotted the King and the challenger already in the arena but not combating just yet.

The challenger looked outlandish with his Western styled garb and armor. No doubt he was of Western heritage but must've been partially Wakandan to have been allowed to challenge. Another thing that caught my notice was his smell. It was incredibly different from our people, who had a quality of freshness and the wild. His was artificial, contaminated, musky, and bitter because of the anger and hatred that he was currently experiencing.

I took another whiff. No, it wasn't only those emotions that plagued his scent but murderousness as well. This man wasn't in the mood for mercy, he had every the intention to kill.

The drums began to start, signaling the beginning of the combat.

" **The king with now have the strength of the Black Panther stripped away.** " Zuri the Witch Priest stated in English for the sake of the foreigner as he gave the liquid to a kneeling T'Challa.

I watched the transformation clearly from the back. Slowly, I inched forward to stand next to my uncle. He glanced at me before quickly averting his attention back to the standoff.

Their conversation was easy to hear because of my keen hearing. It was almost as if they were talking not a foot away.

" **This is your last chance. Throw down your weapons and we can handle this another way**." The Kumkani said mercifully, but the other man didn't care. Instead, his hatred only heightened.

He stabbed his weapons in the dirt under the water and sneered at the King. " **I lived my entire life waitin' for this moment. I trained, I lied, I killed… just to get here. I killed in America, Afghanistan, Iraq. I took life from my brothers and sisters right on this continent!** "

Once he removed his top to reveal the dozens of self-inflicted scars, a practice that I recognized from one of our cultures, he grabbed his weapons and ripped them from the earth. I stared at his body in disgust and horror because I new that each disfigurement only signified one thing: the deaths that were caused under his hand.

" **And all this death… just so I could kill you.** " He finished as he brought the spear that he broke the end of and pointed it at him.

The young King stared at the foreigner with burning eyes for a moment, then looked to Zuri and gave a small nod.

" **Let the challenge begin.** " The priest stated loudly and thumped his spear on the ground to signify the start of the fight.

The outsider immediately ran forward and slashed at T'Challa, who blocked the blow. They exchanged hits, grunting and roaring, and going forward and back along the water and making it splash around them. Harsh brutal moves were made by each of them, until the King was able to sweep the other man from under his feet.

He pointed his spear at him. " **Yield!** "

For a second, I felt relieved, but then the foreigner rolled from under the weapon and drew himself up. Again, they fought brutally, and T'Challa was even able to slice his opponent's cheek. This made him furious, so he made some harsh hits and was able to catch the King off guard, throwing him into the water. From then on, it went downhill.

T'Challa suffered from many hits and slices until he was weak and distracted and the outsider took this to his advantage and stabbed the King savagely in his side.

My teeth and nails grew to sharp points and I snarled loudly at the move. Everyone around me turned to look at me in surprise but I resumed watching the events occurring below. Unfortunately, the drums of the fight and distance between us had covered my slip-up and didn't distract the two combatants.

The foreigner continued to beat T'Challa harshly. " **This is for my father!** "

I was startled. _His father? What did he have to do with the Kumkani? Is this all done in revenge?_

But then he lifted up his weapon and I jerked forward. **_No!_**

" **Erik!** " Zuri yelled as he intercepted the killing blow.

" **Zuri, no.** " T'Challa groaned as he lied in the water in pain.

Zuri used his weapon to disarm Erik. " **Stop!** "

Everyone began to protest and the arena was filled with desperate voices–mine also one of them.

" **I am the cause of your father's death. Not him. Take me.** " Zuri pleaded with a choked voice.

For a split second, Erik scrutinized him and I wished for the priest to get away while he could.

 _Stop. Stop, please! Can't you see that he is going to take your life!_ I cried mentally to the priest.

" **I'll take you both Uncle James!** " Not a second later, Erik stabbed his weapon into Zuri's chest and everyone gasped.

I brought my hands up to my mouth in horror as T'Challa yelled in anger and crawled to the body that was lying face down in the water. " ** _NO! NO! ZURI, NO! NOOO! ZURI! NO! NO!_** "

In retaliation of the murder of the man who was his uncle all in but blood, the wounded man swiped at Erick weakly but was easily overpowered in a few efficient, vicious moves.

" **Is this your king? Huh?** " The traitor asked cruelly. He dodged another weak swipe that had T'Challa growling as he nearly toppled over from the effort. " **Is this your King**?"

T'Challa again tried to stab the other man, who caught his arm and punched him in the stomach. Then Erick moved forward and kneed him in the face, leaving him to choke in pain and drop to the water.

" **The Back Panther, who's supposed to lead you to the future? Him?** " He yelled at the audience. " **He's supposed to protect you?** "

Everyone watched with varied emotions, sadness, fear, agony, anger, but the one that would have pissed me off if I wasn't distracted with the fight was the indifference lingering around W'Kabi.

Once more, T'Challa stood and tried to fight, but this time, Erick took him over his shoulder and moved to the edge of the waterfall. He weakly struggled on top of the other man's shoulders but was too exhausted and in pain to get away.

" _No!_ " I shouted as the King was thrown down into the raging river below.

Without a second thought, I darted forward running through the water and pushed the murderer away. Multiple things happened then; Erick skidded through the water with my hard push, I threw myself after the man who had fallen below, and my uncle yelled in fear.

" _NOKUTHULAAAAA!_ "

With a splash, I dropped in the river and screamed, allowing water to gush into my mouth. Many of my bones had broken from some rocks that were placed unfavorably in my way as I fell in. Fortunately, after a few seconds, they began to snap back into place and I was able to fight my way back to the surface.

Blinking rapidly, I took a deep breath and looked for the King.

With my sharp eyes, I saw not too far from myself a few floating limbs drifting above the river. Not wasting a second, I swam quickly and tried to catch up as soon as I could. When I got to him, I grasped his body and drew his head out of the water. His heart was still beating but his breathe was very shallow. He had lost too much blood and the water wasn't helping.

"My King! My King!" I shouted over the rushing water urgently. "Wake up! You need to wake up!"

My pleas were unsuccessful. He was dead to the world.

After a few minutes when we finally had left the waterfall and was reaching flatland, I used my strength to wade against the water and drag him to the side of the river.

Thinking quickly, I threw my Kimoyo Beads back into the river. If anyone were to try to locate us, they would think I would have drowned in the river, and if they bothered to track us down by it, it would lead them nowhere near us.

I looked back over him and grasped my head, not knowing what to do. "Oh Bast, please, please help me. I don't know what to do!"

Blood seemed to be seeping from every corner of his body, but especially his side. He was dying, there was no doubt about it.

I started tearing up and crying from helplessness. There was no hope. The King, my king, was going to die and I wouldn't be able to do anything about it. I had no medical tools and there was no one around for miles.

With tears running down my face, I moved his arms over his chest and looked over his sleeping face. It was bloodied and full of scratches.

I didn't want him to die looking so gruesome, so as mother would do and doing it without thought, I licked my thumb and rubbed away the blood, skimming over some tiny cuts in the process. Then a miracle happened. Those little cuts began to close and disappear completely right before my eyes.

Unbelieving of what was happening, I did the same action and watched as the same thing occurred again. My heart beat wildly and for a moment I hesitated, but then I dipped down and began to lap his face with my tongue, avoiding the area around his mouth as much as I could. I cringed at the taste of blood and hated how natural it seemed to me, like I was tasting something I would normally eat. I also hated myself for violating him this way and begged the Goddess Bast to keep him from gaining consciousness.

After his face was clean and unblemished, I moved to the largest, most life threatening wound he had, which was his side. Again, I hesitated but smacked myself mentally when I realized that his life was at stake and that I should be getting it along asap. Quickly, I stuck my tongue into the wound and applied as much of my spit so that everything healed correctly and that he wouldn't just be left with healed skin and a stab wound still under.

He shifted and groaned lightly at the action, his face scrunching a little in pain.

 _I'm sorry, I'm sorry_ , I thought to him as I continued lapping away. _I'm almost done._

I finished quickly and didn't wait to watch the wound heal, instead looking around and sniffing his body for more wounds. Mortified, I realized that he had another in his inner thighs. I looked at it for a while, glanced at his face, and couldn't bare it. The idea of licking _the King's_ inner thigh had me closing my eyes in embarrassment.

 _Nope_ , I thought to myself. _There is no way I'm doing it._

Instead, I gathered as much saliva as I could in my palm and rubbed the fluids into the wound. It closed up beautifully and left the skin brand new. Using the same method now that he wasn't in as much danger of bleeding out, I went about healing all the other wounds.

There wasn't any smells that indicated more wounds on his body, so I sat back on my haunches and gazed at the entirety of him. Tears of happiness and relief pricked my eyes, and I looked to the darkening skies. "Thank you. Thank you."

His slowly quickening breathes and heartbeat was music to my ears and after some time keeping track of his vitals, I decided that everything was in steady and in order. There was a chance to move him to a safer location without harming him.

As softly as I could, I took hold of his body and lifted it over my shoulder in a fireman's carry. It was easy for me and his weight wasn't the slightest bit of a bother with my level of strength, so I began to jog slowly into the lands. Although I wanted to go faster, I took into consideration that the man on my shoulders could have been suffering from internal injuries and didn't want to irritate them further.

The night was coming in less than an hour which meant that predators would be prowling about in the night. T'Challa was defenseless and I didn't want to be distracted by other threats if he were ever in danger.

I had one place in mind as I traveled across the wild and it took about hour for me to arrive there with my current speed. Soon enough, I reached the entrance of my hideout and sighed in relief when I saw vines and the battered looking cloth. After a few years when I began to leave the city to explore my Feral powers and the wild, I eventually found myself gravitating to this area after the first time I found it. Many a time had I come here for solitude–whether it be from people or problems. Slowly over the years I started to clean it out and fix it to my liking, to which it then became habitable.

Inside, I slowly lifted the unconscious man off and laid him out gently on my bed on the floor in the corner of the room. After I tucked blankets around his form and checked him one last time, I moved to the entrance and watched him while also listening for any unusual noise in the wild.

The events the past day began to rush through my mind, but what especially struck me the most was Priest Zuri's death. He was beloved among everyone and would do no wrong, so I could only wonder why he would beg for the blame to be placed on him and then be killed for it.

I looked over at the sleeping King and tears spilled from my eyes. I cried silently for some time, for the fate of our people and him. Although I didn't know him well, I couldn't help but feel deep sorrow for him. He had lost his kingdom, his family, his people, and nearly his life. He was a good man–a just king with a heart of gold. The last person to ever have to go through this.

Hours dwindled past and the wild birds of the wild began waking and chirping in response to the rising sun.

I got up from my place and stretched, padding over to his form and sitting. Nudging his face softly, I whispered, "My King, my King."

He stirred lightly but went back to sleep.

I repeated the action, but this time with a little more force. "My King, you must wake up."

He groaned softly as his eyes scrunched and then opened. He blinked a few times and moved his head to the side slightly to look at me. "You."

 _Me?_ I wondered. Never had I interacted with the man but there he was referring to me like he knew exactly who I was. This baffled me, so I kept quiet and waited for him to explicate.

His eyes gradually lost their haziness and honed until they were sharp on my features. "You are Langa's niece, although I cannot recall your name."

"Nokuthula, my King."

His eyes widened and he took a startled breath, remembering the fight the day before from the way I addressed him. Immediately, he attempted to push himself up but groaned hoarsely at the pain Erik had inflicted on him. I did everything I could to heal his cuts but there was a possibility that he had broken bones, strained muscles, or even had internal injuries.

I pushed his chest with a firm hand, using a little of my strength when he struggled against my palm and pushed him back on the furs. He looked shocked at my easy handling and stared at me. I ignored his expression and pressed to more important matters. "How are you feeling? Where do you feel pain?"

For a few moments he seemed to be measuring my genuineness. He must've come to some positive conclusion because he eventually answered, "I think my ribs are cracked or broken and I am feeling pain along my spine."

I sucked in air at this news. It didn't occur to me that he could have been suffering from spinal injuries. This was very bad news because if it was serious, without medical treatment from Wakanda there was a chance that he could be facing life-long disabilities, or even worse, he would not be able to walk at all.

I gave him a tense look. "I'm going to help you stand right now and we will see if you still have the ability to walk."

He tensed as I came near and touched him. Carefully, I helped him sit up and waited for the pain in his ribs to subside. When he stopped groaning and gave me a tight nod, I brought my arm under his and lifted most of his weight as I stood up leisurely. The man must've been in too much pain to realize my inhuman strength or didn't care at the time because he made no mention of it.

T'Challa growled and gripped my shoulder tightly as he straightened himself up as much possible but it seemed that he couldn't completely because of the agony it caused him.

I waited again until his panting slowed and asked, "Do you think you can take a few steps?"

After a few seconds he nodded. We both mentally prepared ourselves.

Gingerly, we both took a step but he cried out loudly when he placed some of his weight on his leg. I became surprised when all his body seemed to drop and quickly tightened my hold to take all his weight.

 _Rhino dung. This is not good._ I worried.

He panted louder than I had heard before and his face was scrunched tightly in pain. "Put me down."

I followed the order instantly and did my best to jostle him as little as possible, yet still the beads of sweat gathering at his temples told me of his suffering.

When it passed, he opened his eyes and gazed at me, looking at me from top to bottom analytically. "You are very strong for a woman of your stature."

I smiled. "Are you talking about by build or my status, your Highness?"

He turned his head and smiled at the ceiling, his eyes flickering to me. "Both."

I settled into my place and clenched my damp clothing. As I watched his expression carefully, I said, "I am a mutant. A Feral to be specific. That is why I am very strong."

Surprised, he turned his head and stared at my face. "A Feral?"

"Yes, your Highness."

He took a full minute to digest this information. After thirty seconds I had becomes accustomed to the silence, which was why I jumped a little when he spoke abruptly. "Canine or Feline?"

"Feline." I answered, a little confused as to where the conversation was going.

He nodded and after a bit he asked, "Where are we now?"

"Your Highness, we are currently 30 miles north of Birnin Zana. This is still too close to the city. I suggest that we leave as soon as possible." We had no idea if the madman thought that we were alive or not and I didn't think he was the type to assume anything. There was a very big chance that he was suspicious of T'Challa's survival and would send warriors to make sure that he was finished once and for all.

T'Challa looked angry after I spoke, although I was sure it was at his condition and not my proposal. The way he motioned to his body irritatedly confirmed that impression. "And how will we able to do that?"

It would be a painful and long journey but in order to live, we would have to make such sacrifice. Not to mention, it would also bruise his pride, but I had to do it. I would carry him for the rest of his life if it came down to it, so I said, "Leave it to me."

If I were in the mood to smirk, I would have at his wide eyes, but what the journey entailed made me too fearful to feel any positive emotions.

If there was any time where T'Challa would have to be at his strongest, it would be now.

– –

A/N: Oh? Two updates in the same month and in the same fic? It can't be.

Translations:

Kumkani: King

Birnin Zana: Golden City (Wakanda's capital city)

Dora Milaje: Adored Ones (Royal family's guards)


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Xhosa." + " _Emphasized Dialogue._ "

" **English.** "

 _Thoughts._

 _– –_

T'Challa had fainted a long time ago from the pain the jostling from my running was causing him. I used this to my advantage and ran as fast as I could to leave behind the forest and our potential death.

After a few hours past, and I was beginning too slow. My muscles burned furiously and I knew that if I were a normal human, I would be suffering from severe exhaustion and dehydration.

As I walked through the greenery, the air began to become colder and colder, and that's when I knew that we were getting close to our destination. Snow began collecting on the ground and the plants became sparser by the kilometer until I was only surrounded by white and rocks. At this point, I had put T'Challa down and took off my robes, covering him tightly and lifting him back on. He was half naked from the fight and his combat shorts did nothing to protect him from the piercing winds. I knew that I would be able to survive no matter how cold it became so I prioritized his well-being by making sure that he was clothed with all the clothing we had available.

He and I shivered from the cold but I trudged on, wearing nothing but thin undershorts and a top that only concealed my chest and upper stomach. Miles walking up the mountains and against its harsh climates and my limbs began to feel agonizingly numb. I could feel how my body was fighting against hypothermia and frostbite.

It was a near certainty that I had lost some toes and fingers along the process of hiking up the mountain, but the numbness wouldn't allow me to detect much of anything. It didn't matter though because my body would heal immediately and recover the missing digits.

Almost at the end of the trek I stopped, smelling and listening to the Jabari who had been following the moment I began hiking the mountain that led to their city. They closed in the more I walked until they hid out of sight only a few meters away. At their close proximity, I stood stock still waiting for them to make a move. My heart pounded in trepidation while I listened to their low breaths and quick heartbeats.

Slowly, they came out of their hiding spots.

The King's light breathing on my shoulder indicated his unconsciousness, so I lightly jostled him and whispered harshly, "My King, wake up now. You must wake up."

He didn't wake and I growled lowly in frustration and unease. He was slowly slinking into a coma and the extreme cold was doing nothing to help him.

The warriors surrounded us in a circle and I clenched onto T'Challa's covered thighs tighter. There was little way of knowing if their intentions were good so I readied myself to flee the instant they made a threatening move.

Maybe it was a mistake coming to Jabari Land.

" **Who are you? What are you doing in our lands, woman?** " The man in front of me snarled in English. His eyes burned into my face and then searched the features of the man who's head rested on my shoulder.

" **I am Nokuthula, niece of the Elder of the Merchant Tribe, and I am here asking for aid and protection for my friend.** " I told him strongly, keeping any anger or negative emotions away from my tone as not to agitate them and lose T'Challa's only chance of medical treatment.

The warrior stared at me and grunted loudly.

One of the soldiers walked up and came too close for comfort in which I instinctively growled from the back of my throat. He paused with his hands raised, about to attempt to take T'Challa off my back but stopping when he caught my warning.

The first warrior I came in contact with thought I was feeling mistrustful and said, "Let him take your companion. No harm will come to him."

I shifted the weight on my back and shook my head quickly. "No, I am fine as I am."

He didn't betray any emotion at my stubbornness and turned away. One of the other men walked up to me with large cover and I bristled again, thinking that they were going to use force this time, until he roughly covered T'Challa and I with it. Once the knot that was made so that it didn't slip off was secured, he tipped his head up the road and pushed me to start moving.

I walked in front of them warily, unsure of having my back exposed because it gave them a clear exposure of where T'Challa was situated.

The winds became harsher as we traveled to the top of the mountain and I worried a lot about T'Challa being affected by it. The journey couldn't have gone slower but eventually I found myself looking at a huge construction spanning nearly half a mile and made entirely of wood.

In only minutes I was led through the insides of the building. Along the way many Jabari people stopped and stared, making a scene out of my entrance. Woman and men alike began following the warriors behind me, trying to catch a glimpse of the foreign woman carrying a full grown man like he was a child.

Finally, we made it to the entrance of large room where I could hear the unmistakable voice of M'Baku discussing something with another person in their native language.

I jumped when the warrior behind me grunted and spoke loudly, most likely alerting the chief of our arrival.

M'Baku paused for a moment and then responded just as loudly. Lowly, he muttered something to other man, who then came into view. The stranger startled a little when he saw me but walked past us quickly.

At the other man's dismissal, the same warrior who spoke gave a nudge to my calf. This made me walk so that I entered a room. Making my way to the front of the leader of the Jabari, I kept my head down in submission. I didn't want to make a mistake of looking into his eyes and possibly offending him.

" **What do you seek, outsider?** " M'Baku demanded while he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He scanned me from top to bottom and lingered on the man on my back. Fortunately, T'Challa had moved his head some time during the journey so that his face was hidden in my neck. Unfortunately for me, it was awkward and embarrassing because I was incredibly aware of feel his lips near my pulse.

" **I am begging you to help my companion. He is in dire need of medical aid.** " I pleaded.

M'Baku lifted chin to a warrior near me, who came forward, untied the knot on collarbones, and stripped the cover away.

The Jabari leader took a loud breath of surprise and shot up from his seat. I flinched back at the abrupt motion and became antsy when he came near. The man was huge, giving him a good intimidation factor, and my feral didn't like it at all. It felt like a challenge to her and I tried to harshly push her back to her place. Responding to the perceived challenge would only blow my chance for help.

The ape-man grabbed T'Challa's head, making my chest rumble from the low growl I was emitting–everyone was touching him and I hated it–and moved the unconscious man's head a little so that he could see most of his features. T'Challa's sleeping face made him raise his brows, and he carefully let him go and stepped back.

" **Not just any companion, eh?** " M'Baku stated with a hint of amusement. He folded his arms and looked me from top and bottom, noticing my lack of clothing, the feminine textiles wrapped around the man on my back, and making the connection.

Again, he started talking in his native language, which I could not follow a single word of, and motioned to T'Challa.

" **My men will now take you and T'Challa to supply him with medical aide. Go now.** " He dismissed me with a wave of a hand and went back to his throne watching me carefully.

" **Thank you. I am forever in your debt.** " I said and bowed my head once.

He shook his head and slouched back into his seat. " **No, no debt."**

Without a second thought, I turned and left his presence, feeling incredibly aware of his stare on my back–or rather T'Challa's back–as I strode out of the room.

The warriors lead me to a large room with its furniture and accessories made entirely out of wood, with an exception of the bed coverings.

" **Stay here. Aid will be brought soon.** " A warrior told me at the door.

When I nodded, he stepped back and closed the door firmly. My sharp ears caught the sound of some of them positioning themselves at either side of the entrance. It didn't matter to me. I was occupied with bringing my King's body onto the bed and stripping him from my clothing and covering him back with all the thick covers available.

Now that my clothing was available, I dressed back up. While I was tying a final knot of my robe, I heard feet walking against the wooden floor outside quickly approaching the door.

There was a soft knock. From outside the room a low croaky voice spoke broken English, " **Hello? I help.** "

I raised my voice so that they could hear. " **Come in.** "

An old woman wearing furs and a long heavy looking attire came inside the room carrying a woven basket. One inhale informed me of the herbs and oils that she had inside, items that she must have brought for the man lying indisposed on the bed.

The elderly woman scurried to T'Challa's side and started removing items from her basket. Coming to her side, I asked her, " **Can I help?** "

She looked up and then took out a jar filled with a very light brownish tinted liquid.

" **Use.** " She told me and made a rubbing motion in the air. " **Help cold.** "

Briskly, I lifted the covers back off his body until his combat shorts revealed themselves. We both made quick working of rubbing the oils and medicines onto his body, her taking over the top while I kneaded his legs.

Blood began to rush back to T'Challa's body and his cheeks became rosy because of it. I marveled at the caliber and efficiency of their natural cures and how quickly it impacted the body. It was no wonder the Jabari had lived this long in the harsh conditions of an environment like this. For millenniums they had rejected any technological or scientific advancements and instead used their efforts into perfecting crafts like medicine making and carpentry. Never had I ever been grateful that they did until now.

When we were done, she didn't tell me to do anything more so I stood back as she ran her diagnostics the old fashioned way, running her hands over his body, testing flesh, moving his limbs this way and that, and then checking his pulse, breath, and eyes. I noticed how she would stop her actions whenever the man began to show any signs of discomfort, and completely stopped when she reached the midway through his back to skip all the way down to continue on his legs. She must have been aware that something was wrong in that area and didn't want to do deal with anything that was not in her expertise. That was a professional call, because tackling issues that she had little knowledge would have resulted in putting him in pain and/or magnify the problem.

" **Pick up.** " She said after turning to me, she pointing at T'Challa and flicking her finger up. I wasn't sure what she was trying to communicate to me, so she took some bandages from her basket and mimed wrapping her ribs. It was then did I understand she meant and moved to lift the man's upper body so that she could begin the process. As I lifted his upper body easily, she startled from my unmistakable show of strength but quickly got over it, prioritizing her patient and not making any fuss of what she had witnessed.

Meanwhile, T'Challa made a low noise and stirred from unconsciousness. Inwardly, I despaired at his impeccable–and unfortunate for me–timing. "Wh-what is going on?"

"Shhh. Everything is fine. We are just wrapping your ribs." I said in a calm, soothing voice.

His eyes widened a little and he tried to move from my grasp, resisting when I didn't let him. "We? What do you mean 'we'?"

I averted my gaze and then sighed because I knew that there was no way of avoiding the truth. It only took one look around to tell where we were and who we were with. "A Jabari woman and I. We are now in Jabari Land, my King."

He looked at the other woman who had stopped wrapping as he woke. They stared at each other until the Jabari looked to me inquiringly. I nodded at her, giving her permission to continue what she had been doing.

"You brought–" He gave a pained wheeze when she tightened the bandage, "–us here?" T'Challa didn't look like he knew whether he felt like he should have been angry or relieved at my decision. "Why?"

"You needed medical aide desperately, so I made the risk." I informed him.

He argued no further, understanding that there was no other option available. If I hadn't brought him here, he would have died in the wild… and that was if Erik didn't get to us first.

There was nothing left to be said between us so we watched as the woman finished up by tucking in the excess cloth so that it wouldn't get loose. I laid him down and lifted his covers up on his chest, feeling a little flustered as the man watched me doing it. It felt a little intimate, taking care of him like that, so I instantly backed off and moved to a chair in the other side of the room. The old lady had left not long ago, leaving us to wait in the stillness.

"Why did you come for me?" His low voice questioned in the silent room. I knew that the only thing that he could be referring to was when I followed after him when he was thrown into the river.

It took me a while to collect my thoughts but after scrambling and finding little, I realized I could give him no real answer. "I don't know. It was instinctive."

"An instinct of yours or your Feral?" He asked, as if he knew exactly what I had experienced. Maybe he had. I never thought of it, but maybe the Hearth-Shaped Herb had given him more that strength and agility.

"A combination of both, my King, but more Feral than mine." I said truthfully. "I almost did not even think when I jumped after you."

T'Challa looked at me strangely–scrutinizingly in a way. "I never got to thank you for saving my life."

I gave him a small smile. "The fact that my king is still alive is all the thanks I need. And when you recuperate and take back the kingdom, you will have paid me many times over."

He gave a nod of promise but frowned once he realized his condition. "It does not look like I will be paying my debt soon."

I pursed my lips and shook my head in disagreement. There was a long period of silence until he broke it again.

"Say, where has all my wounds gone? Don't tell me that the Jabari are that advanced in medicine as well." He pushed down the covers to look at his unblemished side, abdomen, and thigh–also noticing the lack of little cuts or scabs on any of his skin.

 _Oh, Bast._ I didn't know what to say and there was no way I could possibly explain without bringing embarrassment to both of us or looking like a liar, so I just nodded. "Yes, I was surprised to find out as well."

The way I phrased my statement made him remember my own health and he scanned my face carefully. "You must have been hurt from the fall. Do you need medical aid?"

"No, do not worry, my King. Fortunately, my Feral mutation gave me an incredibly fast healing rate. Some bones broke from the fall in the river but they snapped into place almost immediately."

He grimaced at the word "snapped", imagining the unpleasant scene in detail. "Pain is still pain and I am very sorry that you went through that."

"Do not worry about it, your Highness," I dismissed again. "As **cliché** as it sounds, I have endured worse."

The wild was an unforgiving place and I had slipped into some situations where a normal human definitely would have died, and many more that were miss calls. When I was younger, I was obsessed with challenging the limits of my powers and would perform insane activities that would result in broken bones, blood loss, and one time even a missing limb. It wasn't until I had past my teenage years and reached maturely of adulthood did I apply my efforts into something more productive like sparring. My youth full of adventure and learning, and although there was quite a bit of pain, the experience was unforgettable and definitely worth it.

T'Challa looked like wanted to say more but was interrupted when I said, "Someone is coming."

Not ten-seconds later M'Baku barged in with four guards following behind him. He stood in front of us imposingly and stared at T'Challa, his eyes flicking toward me once. " **It looks like you ran into a bit of trouble, eh, T'Challa?** "

The healer must have informed them of her patient's consciousness and the Ape-Chief didn't give me the impression of someone to wait for someone to get better before interrogating them. He must have been extremely mystified as to why Wakanda's king–and the powerful Black Panther, no less–had been in such a state and why he was brought here to Jabari Land, the home of their enemy, for aid. Last time he saw the king was when he had challenged him and after the defeat he hadn't expected to see him in a very long while.

" **M'Baku** ," T'Challa acknowledged. " **Thank you for your aid. I am v–** "

" **Bah** ," M'Baku interrupted loudly with a wave, " **Be quiet. I am just paying a life debt.** "

My companions dipped his head with appreciation.

The bigger male folded his arms, muscles bulging in the act. " **So for what have I been graced the honor of your presence in my lands? Especially in a state like yours? I would expect you to rely on the much more advanced medicines in your city.** "

" **My city is now being ruled by a madman. A man named Erik Stevens, who I recently discovered to be my cousin, has beaten me in trial of combat for the throne. He tried to kill me but I was saved.** " My king nodded his head at me and I smiled back. M'Baku quirked a brow with an emotion I couldn't decipher.

" **Erik Stevens** ," M'Baku tasted the name on his tongue. " **A Western name, no? Hm… Must have been an interesting turn of events.** " Abruptly, he pointed his finger at T'Challa. " **I will help you heal but** ** _only_** **because of your people if what you say is true about Stevens. I have already paid my debts so I am the one being owed a favor this time.** "

They observed each other for some seconds until T'Challa bowed his head once. " **Agreed. Thank you.** "

I curiously watched the exchange and wondered how leaders where able to find politics in everything that they did.

M'Baku crossed his arms again and smirked proudly. " **Now that business is out of the way, I've got a little present for you.** "

He spoke to his guards who then signaled to the ones standing outside the door. I could hear light footsteps walk up to the door from where they were waiting. Their scent wafted into the room a few seconds before they did and I gasped because of the familiarity of it. I smelled it in the very few times I had been invited to the palace with my cousin's family and had smelled it again when I stood at the ravine with all the leaders of Wakanda not long ago.

Two woman came walking into the room with slightly confused expressions but bursted into movement when they spotted the familiar man in the bed.

"T'Challa!" Shuri cried as they hurried to the unoccupied side of his bed. The Queen Mother burst into tears as she held onto his hand while Shuri grinned widely with watery eyes. T'Challa could only look back and forth to each of them in amazement.

I gaped at them, not understanding what exactly that had occurred in the last few seconds. The King must've felt confused as well because he asked them, "What are you doing here?"

Shuri wiped her eyes and said, "After you were thrown off the cliff, we knew we weren't safe around Killmonger and had to flee. Jabari Land became the only safe place in Wakanda, so we came here for sanctuary."

"But never mind us. We are fine." Ramonda cut in. "What about you, my son? How are you?"

Without missing a beat, he smiled hugely and kissed his mother's hand. "Everything is right in the world now that my family is here with me. I thought-I thought–" He paused and pain flashed through his face, "Never mind, everything is fine."

At his inability to speak, an understanding look came over his mother's face and so she placed a hand over her son's head and stroked it tenderly with all the affection she could give. "Oh, my son."

My heart hurt badly for him, I didn't realize that he actually believed that his mother and sister would be slaughtered by Killmonger. It was hard for me to imagine that a hero like him, the Black Panther, could lose such hope, but I understood; he had reached the lowest of lows and didn't have the emotional capability to stay positive.

T'Challa closed his eyes, tears clinging to his lashes, and reveled in the attention. His shoulder slackened a bit, as if weight was lifted off his shoulders. His family was safe.

Once he opened his eyes and was able to swallow his emotions, he looked to his sister. They began talking with wide smiles on their faces and I took that as my cue to leave. Looking at the leader of the land we were now in, I smiled genuinely and gestured to the door. It wasn't my place to witness the family reunion, I reminded myself.

" **Thank you so much for what you have done. This the greatest gift you have given anyone.** " I told him sincerely after we left the room.

" **Mm** ," he simply responded without looking at me as we walked down the hall, myself only a step behind him to respect his status. Apparently he wasn't very interested in hearing my gratitude or was embarrassed by it because he changed the subject. " **What is your relation to T'Challa, exactly?** "

I blinked a few times and waved a hand in denial. " **Nothing romantic, if that is what you mean. I am only a loyal subject protecting her king.** "

" **Very loyal** ," M'Baku commended, " **but not everyone would do the same in your shoes. They couldn't do it even if they tried.** "

That was what I was waiting for. I was so sure that he was bound to notice my intact health and impressive power when I carried the king through the searing cold and snow without so much of a struggle.

There was no way out of denying the truth or telling lies so I revealed my secret. " **I am a Feral.** "

" **Feral?** " He finally looked at me and repeated with a bit of shock, as though he knew my answer and yet still became surprised by my candor. " **A Feral mutant?** "

" **Yes, that is why I have super strength and healing abilities.** " Only that the healing abilities was meant in both ways I had discovered the other day, but I wasn't about to say that.

What he said next stunned me into stopping right in the middle of the hallway. " **I, too, am a Feral.** "

 _What? Have I heard correctly?_ I thought, bewildered, but took a whiff of his scent; my nose always told me everything I needed to know. His furs had covered a bit of his natural smell, but I could definitely tell the underlying aroma of Feral–although weaker than some I had encountered.

" **Level 1 Feral** ," he revealed shortly when he heard my inhale. A jolt of embarrassment came over me at of my blatant scrutiny of his person. I gave a soft apology and he gave me the smallest of glances, not acknowledging it entirely. At that moment did I realized that all the respect he had for me plummeted and that he wasn't interested in interacting with me anymore.

I burned with shame when we walked again, and I wanted to slap myself because of my stupidity. As a person more animal than most, it was natural to use my senses to understand people but it rarely ever dawned to me how my curiosity could be interpreted as more of a violation than anything else. Instead of dwelling on my misstep, which would lead me into a spiral of my own chagrin, I distracted myself with what he had said.

Level 1 Ferals usually had stronger senses and more strength than an average human, but almost never had gifts of regeneration or more animal like qualities that Level 5 Ferals always possessed. They also almost never knew what animal they embodied because of their limited mutations.

M'Baku left not long after, leaving me to a few warriors who had brought me to another room. There, I took a deep breathe and sat on the bed, rubbing my face restlessly.

I was so happy that the king had been reunited with his family but it reminded me to think of mine. Even though my family knew I was a Mutant, they still must had been worried sick for me. It went without saying that I must had been branded as a traitor after the way I unflinchingly went after T'Challa and they must have done some heavy investigation on my person to figure out the motivations behind my actions. (Jokes on them because they will have never understood why I did. I, myself, did not understand.)

What I worried about the most was how my family would be scrutinized for my act of betrayal. My uncle needed all the trust he could get from the king at such turbulent times but I only made it harder for him to be taken seriously in the Royal Court. I had hoped I didn't doom him and the rest of my people into living under a difficult reign.

My poor Aunt Buhle and cousin Nofoto…

I rubbed my eyes with the pads of my fingers as my head hung.

I felt like I had failed them; it was all my fault that they were suffering. I had no way of knowing how they were and my instincts urged me to go back home and bring them back to safety. On the other hand, another part of me had made a strong bond with T'Challa–one that I couldn't sever even if I wanted to. Throughout caring for the man, my Feral had created a deep bond full of care and support and although it wasn't romantic, it didn't feel platonic at all whatsoever. I just knew in the deepest part of my heart and mind that I couldn't leave the him.

I was the only capable person who was capable of defending him and his family from the Jabari, Killmonger, and every other enemy out there who might had caught a whiff of his downfall and decided it was an opportune time to take revenge.

Torn between the love for my family and the responsibility to my monarchs, I sighed deeply. I wouldn't leave the king and his family to fend for themselves and I hated myself all the more for it. If anything– _anything_ –happened to my family while I wasn't there, I would hate myself for eternity.


End file.
